For now at least, a coincidence of favorable data and timing would appear to vindicate Erdogan’s assault on economic orthodoxy, which holds that borrowing decreases when interest rates rise, curbing inflation as consumers spend less. Türkiye’s president believes the opposite is true, and lower rates bring price growth down. Thanks to a more stable lira, weak demand after recession, and distortions from year-on-year comparisons, Turkish inflation could soon be in single digits for the first time in over two years. And the central bank will almost certainly oblige on Thursday with a rate cut of as much...
Türkiye in International Media
Turkish and U.S. troops conducted their first joint ground patrol in northeastern Syria on Sunday as part of a so-called "safe zone" that Ankara has been pressing for in the volatile Kurdish-administered region. Türkiye hopes the buffer zone, which it says should be at least 30 kilometers (19 miles) deep, will keep Syrian Kurdish fighters away from its border. Türkiye considers these Kurdish militias a threat, but they've also been key U.S. allies in the fight against the Islamic State group. The presence of Turkish troops inside Kurdish-administered areas is a major development in the conflict...
Türkiye's president threatened Saturday to launch a unilateral offensive into northeastern Syria if plans to establish a so-called safe zone along Türkiye's border fail to meet his expectations, including a demand that Turkish soldiers control the corridor. Speaking to graduates of a military academy in Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the U.S. had up to three weeks to satisfy Turkish demands. Earlier in August, Turkish and U.S. officials agreed to set up the zone east of the Euphrates River. Ankara wants U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters, considered terrorists by Türkiye, to pull back from...
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Türkiye will ensure it is able to buy and produce fighter jets and that Russian Su-35s and Su-57s are a possible alternative to U.S. planes. He also said that he plans to meet U.S. President Donald Trump next month at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in mid-September. "If the United States maintains its current stance on the F-35s, we will take care of this," he told reporters in Ankara. "Beyond putting the Su-35 or 57 issue on the table, the issues that we are...
President Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye's deal with the United States to set up a "safe zone" in northeast Syria was a correct step and that Ankara would not let Washington delay the plan. Ankara revealed last weekend that a joint operations centre for the proposed zone along Syria's northeastern border is now fully operational. Washington and Ankara have been at odds over plans for the region, where the Kurdish YPG militia form the main part of a U.S.-backed force fighting Islamic State. Türkiye considers the YPG a terrorist group. "The agreement which we have reached...
President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Türkiye wants to continue defence industry cooperation with Russia, including on warplanes, following talks in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Erdogan spoke after the leaders visited an air show outside the Russian capital where Sukhoi Su-57 stealth fighter jets performed demonstration flights and the Turkish leader inspected aircraft. In another step that could further strain ties with NATO ally the United States, Türkiye took delivery on Tuesday of a second batch of Russian S-400 air defence equipment. "We are taking positive steps in the defence industry sector...
The Kremlin hinted at possible talks over new arms deals between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the two leaders meet at an international air show near Moscow. Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declined to say whether the two sides plan to discuss sales of Russian Su-35 fighter jets during Tuesday’s visit to the MAKS aviation and space salon, a showcase for Russian military technoloy. The talks follow the U.S. decision last month to suspend Türkiye’s ability to buy and help build the advanced F35 stealth warplane in retaliation for taking...
The Turkish defense minister says Russia will resume the delivery of its S-400 missile defense system to Türkiye this week. Türkiye took delivery of the first part of the Russian system last month despite strong objections from the United States, which had been pressing Türkiye to cancel the deal with Russia and has threatened sanctions against Türkiye. Washington says the Russian system is incompatible with NATO and poses a threat to the U.S.-led F-35 fighter jet program. It has suspended Türkiye's participation in that program. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said...
By Fahrettin ALTUN A recent Foreign Policy article by Kareem Chehayeb and Sarah Hunaidi claims that Türkiye is attempting to “sidestep international obligations to protect” Syrian refugees and is deporting Syrians. It alleges that Türkiye deported Hisham Moustafa Steif al-Mohammed, a Syrian refugee before he was “killed by a Turkish sniper” as he attempted to cross the Turkish-Syrian border illegally. This narrative, however compelling, is misleading. The article misrepresents Türkiye’s policy toward Syrian refugees as a “deportation policy” and presents as fact uncorroborated claims about a specific individual. The Turkish government...